Wicked games
by wolfypuppypiles
Summary: My episode rewrite of 5x5 Non Essential Personnel Pope leads Tom on a scavenger hunt to find his son but will he get there in time to save him?
1. Chapter 1

Tom mason took another shaky breath as he listened to his son scream, and squeezed the radio that the sound was coming from.

His strong son, his baby boy, had been kidnapped by a psychopath and was now being tortured and it was all to get back at him.

Tom held back his tears and bit his lower lip, trying to compose himself so he could say with absolute clarity and conviction "I'm gonna kill you." That bastard pope was leading him on a sick scavenger hunt to find his son and Tom could only hope that Hal would be alive when he found him.

Pope laughed through the radio and told Tom again how much trouble Hal was in before giving him his next location to frantically run to. Tom started moving and heard Pope's attempt at sincerity as he said "I really hope you get to him in time." before the radio went silent.

Tom knew this was his fault. He had allowed pope to stay with the second mass despite how obviously untrustworthy he was. The man had never deceived anyone about his intentions. From the beginning it was clear that pope was on no one's side in this war but his own. And Tom had let him stay.

And then Sarah was killed and Pope had been right, if it had been his family he never would have waited to save them but no matter how it happened it was Toms fault and everyone knew it and now pope had Hal and that was his fault too.

That son of a bitch wasn't going to get away with it this time. After all the second and third chances the maniac had been given Tom would have no remorse in killing him.

He just needed to find where Pope was keeping his son first. Tom was desperate to get his boy back but he knew he had to be careful about what he said because there was no predicting what could set the man off.

The professor arrived at the address Pope had given him and looked around the empty playground. This small park had been overtaken by nature and half destroyed by war and Tom briefly thought about how it would have brought happiness to so many children before the invasion but was now being used to taunt him about the fate of his son.

The father blew out a frustrated breath and ignored the heavy scent of rot from the moldy playground as he clicked on the radio again.

"Pope give me back my son. He hasn't done anything to you, just let him go and take me instead. Pope I'm losing patience give me back my boy or I will come and kill you."

Tom heard the click of the radio being turned on before hearing again the rough angry voice of his son's kidnapper.

"You know what I'm losing my patience too Mason. You can have your son back."

Tom then heard the worst sound he could have ever heard. Shuffling feet and shaking chains as his son desperately tried to get away and the panicked cries of Hal begging pope to stop. Tom wanted to yell at the criminal, to beg again for his son's life but his air was taken from him when a gunshot rang out, sharp and loud through the small radio.

For a few seconds Tom felt as if his heart had stopped because the radio was silent and he had no way of knowing if his son was alive or not. The gunshot sounded so utterly final and Tom's mind was assaulted with the image of his son lying dead, bullet hole though his skull. For a moment, a moment that lasted far too long, the father thought about how he would have to tell Ben and Matt that their older brother was dead.

But then a pained whimper broke the father's heart all over again. His son was alive. But for how long. It occurred to the new president that he may still have to decide between burying Hal and coming back to the second mass empty handed or dragging his son's body back to his consequently smaller family. Pope laughed cruelly and there was shuffling from his end of the radio.

"A bullet to the stomach is a painful way to go Tom, you better hope you get to him fast enough to get this bleeding stopped cause let me tell you your boys not gonna be able to do it and he definitely won't last much long if you don't."

"Please pope I'm begging you, tell me where he is."

"He's already bleeding out Mason, and this floors none too clean you better hope it doesn't get infected."

There was another thump as Pope kicked Hal in the ribs and Tom could hear the crunch of bones before the strangled sob of his son. Tears blinded the father for a moment before they fell down his cheeks as he cursed himself for what hell his son was going through.

"Please John let me find my son, let me save him. I'm sorry about Sarah, your right it was my fault, I should have saved her but please… please give me my son." His words were hardly understandable through his agonized sobs but they seemed to be good enough for Pope because he rattled off an address and Tom quickly scribbled it on his map.

Hal's ragged breathing was suddenly clearer and Tom new that pope must have placed the radio next to his son as he slowly bled out. This man was beyond cruel shooting his son and then making him listen to him as the life slowly seeped out of him only hoping he would get there in time.

Tom could hear Popes heavy footsteps as he walked away from the walkie-talkie leaving only soft whimpers of his son. The professor started running to his final destination and prayed Pope had given him the right address.

"I'm coming Hal, you just hold on I'll be there soon son." He tucked the radio under the strap of his bag so that he could have it close enough to his face to hear and talk to Hal but still be able to run.

He was about fifteen minutes away and knew that it may be too long. Hal could bleed out before he got there and there was no telling if any major organs had been hit. He was very aware he could be listening to the last breathes of his first born and pushed his tired legs to run faster.

"Dad?" wheezy, strained breathing made Tom feel guilty for his endless sir supply as his son struggled to speak.

"It's okay if you don't….it's okay."

Tear momentarily blinded Tom but he shook them from his eyes and kept going. His son was trying to tell him it was okay if he couldn't save him, he was giving up and that was something that this father would not allow.

"No Hal, I'll get there, I'm not leaving you and we are not giving up. Just put pressure on the wound Hal you know what to do."

The sound of tugging hands on chains met Tom's ears through the radio and he mentally cursed Pope for making an already hopeless situation more difficult.

"My hands are tied and Dad…..it hurts, it really hurts." Tom knew that his son was trying to be strong and he was older than he was when the damn aliens first invaded but he was far too young to be a soldier in this war. This war that had taken almost everything wanted to take his son too.

"It's okay to cry Hal, I know your strong just stay awake and keep talking to me and I promise I will find you." He was only five minutes away now but it still seemed an impossibly long amount of time.

"Hal give me a minute I'm going to radio Anne and get her to come and she can fix you up and we'll get you home."

Trying to keep his running pace steady as he grabbed the radio from his strap he heard Hal's moan.

"There is no home Dad. Just tell Ben and Matt and Maggie I love them okay? Don't take too long burying-" the boy's words were broken off by his coughs, pained and wet in a way that worried Tom.

"Don't take too long burying me, just get to DC. It's important Dad."

The father shook his head frantically. "We'll make a new home Hal. Once this war is over we will make a new home for all of us and you will be there to see it so just stay awake I'm calling Anne but I will get to you soon."

Not wanting to take too long, knowing that Hal could say his last words without Tom hearing them if he did, the professor tuned the radio to a frequency he knew Weaver and Anne would be listening to and puffed out his message between gasps of air as he ran.

"Hal's been shot, we need help now! Send Anne with a vehicle as soon as you can please!" He gave them the address and only waited long enough to hear Weaver tell them they were coming before tuning it back to Hal's frequency.

"Hal, you still there? Hal!" There was only a low moan in response but Tom could see the building Hal was in now and he pushed his legs to run faster. Running into the building Tom looked ion a few of the rooms but knew it would take too long to search each one when his son could be anywhere. And he didn't know what he would do if he had been given the wrong address.

"Hal I'm here I'm right outside, make some noise so I know where you are!"

It took a few slow seconds but he soon heard the weak thump of Hal's boot kicking metal. Tom's head spun around towards the sound and he launched himself in the direction it was coming from, heart almost beating out of his chest at the thought of finally reaching his son.

Running down a hallway Tom could see Hal's splayed legs, one still kicking, in the end room and sprinted forward.

Hal had heard his dad coming and let his leg drop to the floor, exhausted, but smiled when his father finally came to view in the doorway. He hadn't thought he would ever get to see his Dad again and he was glad he wouldn't be alone when he died.


	2. Chapter 2

Tom ran in the room and dropped to the floor beside his son immediately stripping off his over shirt, folding it and pressing it to the bullet wound. Grimacing when Hal cried out at the pressure the father looked to where his son's hands were chained to a sort of cabinet. It would be difficult to get those off and they needed to do it soon but he still had the bullet wound to worry about.

A flash of white bandage caught the professors eye and he realized someone must have stitched and dressed the cut that Pope had inflicted, which meant medical supplies could still be nearby. Radioing Weaver long enough to tell them to bring the bolt cutters, Tom looked down sadly at his son. There were bruises and marks all over his face and there were lines of pain on the kids face that were so set it looked like they would never fade.

"I'm gonna come right back kid I just have to find something to use as a pressure bandage okay Hal, I'll be right back." Hal was already weakly calling out to him but Tom couldn't afford to look back, sprinting from the room he desperately looked around for something that could help.

The professor found some cloths and a pillow in one of the trashed rooms and headed back to where his son was still bleeding out.

Tom was beginning to get desperate. Hal was losing too much blood and he couldn't stop it, couldn't even untie his son or get him moved to somewhere safer. Mason looked to his eldest and ran his hand through the kids hair.

"I'm here Hal, I won't leave you again. I'm so sorry son this shouldn't have happened but Anne's gonna come and fix you right up and you'll be okay. Everything's gonna be just fine."

Tom was known for his general sense of optimism, more his stubbornness really, about anything concerning his boys but looking at his eldest son now it was hard to see them getting out of this with a good outcome.

The kid was trying so hard to be strong but he was in so much pain and tears were making tracks in the dirt on his face. All of Tom's energy, strength and hope left him in that moment. His son shouldn't have been bleeding out on a dirty floor of some abandoned bowling alley.

Still pressing on his son's blood soaked stomach, the professor pressed a kiss to his boys' forehead as his own tears ran down his cheeks. Hal's eyes were unfocused and each time he blinked Tom was worried his eyes would stay closed. He didn't know what else to do but put pressure on the wound and keep Hal awake.

"Open your eyes Hal, stay awake kid come on." It didn't even look like Hal was seeing him or anything else anymore, Tom didn't even know if he could hear him.

Hal's eyes slipped shut just before the sound of a car engine came from outside. Tom didn't know if it was Pope or Weaver and stood protectively over his son. Anne came through the door though, followed closely by Weaver, Maggie and Ben. Tom relaxed his defensive stance and flopped back to the ground with his now unconscious boy, tears running down his face in earnest now.

Anne gasped when she saw the battered teenager but went immediately to work, calling Weaver over with the bolt cutters. Tom shuffled back to let them work, releasing his hold on the now blood soaked jacket over Hal's stomach.

The father heard a horrified cry from Maggie and Ben as they stood behind him.

"Oh God Hal."

"What did Pope do to him?" Tom couldn't even answer his middle child, only wiped his face with his shirt and watched as the chains slipped from Hal's bruised and bloodied hands.

Anne assessed Hal and determined that Surgery needed and it needed to happen now.

"I need to take the bullet out before we move him and he's already lost too much blood so we don't have much time Tom." When the president didn't say anything Weaver led him out of the room and sat him on one of the couches.

"We'll take care of him Tom you just sit here and we'll come get you when it's done."

Tom didn't want to leave his son but he didn't think he could bear watching them cut into him either. So Tom sat on that couch with his head in his hands and prayed he wouldn't lose his son.

….

Anne was a pediatrician, not a surgeon but this war had brought out the best in her and she was the finest army medic the second Mass could have hoped for. The young woman was efficient and skillful as she removed the bullet from the boy.

Weaver assisted in any way he could but mostly watched in awe or Dr Glass. Tom had come back in after a while and sat beside Hal, taking his hand in his and taking Ben's in his other.

He just prayed he wouldn't have to go home to tell Mattie that he lost his big brother.

Anne finally finished and ordered everyone to load up her patient in the truck to take him back to the second Mass.

Tom knew that Anne was hoping for some reaction from Hal when he was lifted into the truck-bed because she frowned when the boy remained motionless. He hadn't made any movements or noise and Tom knew it wasn't a good sign.

Maggie sat in the truck bed as the boys lowered Hal down so she could cradle his head in her lap. He made no noise as she stroked back his hair and she allowed only a few tears to escape as she looked down at the man that had been by her side through this war, covered in blood and barely hanging on. As everyone else climbed into the truck she lent down and pressed a kiss to his forehead and hoped it wouldn't be the last time she did so.


End file.
